Found this last week, but with traveling, wasn't able to post this til this morning...it is interesting and was mentioned at the meeting on Saturday...

April 25 (Reuters) - Heavy use of the world's most popular herbicide, Roundup, could be linked to a range of health problems and diseases, including Parkinson's, infertility and cancers, according to a new study.

The peer-reviewed report, published last week in the scientific journal Entropy, said evidence indicates that residues of "glyphosate," the chief ingredient in Roundup weed killer, which is sprayed over millions of acres of crops, has been found in food.

Those residues enhance the damaging effects of other food-borne chemical residues and toxins in the environment to disrupt normal body functions and induce disease, according to the report, authored by Stephanie Seneff, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Anthony Samsel, a retired science consultant from Arthur D. Little, Inc. Samsel is a former private environmental government contractor as well as a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

"Negative impact on the body is insidious and manifests slowly over time as inflammation damages cellular systems throughout the body," the study says.

We "have hit upon something very important that needs to be taken seriously and further investigated," Seneff said.

Environmentalists, consumer groups and plant scientists from several countries have warned that heavy use of glyphosate is causing problems for plants, people and animals.

The EPA is conducting a standard registration review of glyphosate and has set a deadline of 2015 for determining if glyphosate use should be limited. The study is among many comments submitted to the agency.

Monsanto is the developer of both Roundup herbicide and a suite of crops that are genetically altered to withstand being sprayed with the Roundup weed killer.

These biotech crops, including corn, soybeans, canola and sugarbeets, are planted on millions of acres in the United States annually. Farmers like them because they can spray Roundup weed killer directly on the crops to kill weeds in the fields without harming the crops.

Roundup is also popularly used on lawns, gardens and golf courses.

Monsanto and other leading industry experts have said for years that glyphosate is proven safe, and has a less damaging impact on the environment than other commonly used chemicals.

Jerry Steiner, Monsanto's executive vice president of sustainability, reiterated that in a recent interview when questioned about the study.

"We are very confident in the long track record that glyphosate has. It has been very, very extensively studied," he said.

Of the more than two dozen top herbicides on the market, glyphosate is the most popular. In 2007, as much as 185 million pounds of glyphosate was used by U.S. farmers, double the amount used six years ago, according to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data.

jcoff012: I did a little bit of research on your comment. There are only two known people to have gotten PD from Round/up. One in China and I can't remember where the other guy was from. The culprit seems to be a chemical. called "glyphostate". The one chemical that I know that can cause PD is 24578TD which in essence is "Dioxon". The VA thinks that is what caused so many veterans to come down with the diseade.

Bob, the comments at the conference were, "we are presenting the latest research information, but as of yet, this is merely conjecture. It WILL be thoroughly investigated, of course."

Seems to me that research is going in many different directions...Years ago, when my MIL was first dx,no one asked or found that her sense of smell was gone; however, looking back just a few years, my husband DEFINITELY lost his sense of smell. Also, they told her that it definitely was NOT inherited...she had six children and worried she might pass it on...we feel the familial link IS a major factor...but, who knows..I hope research keeps being fundd so that we all will benefit in our lifetimes...

While this is being investigated, disputed and finger pointed back and forth between researchers and the chemical companies. I think one thing We all should do is to Us patients and caregivers to the best of our abilities keep away from these chemicals in our foods on our lawns and in gardens! To do otherwise is to expose already compromised central nervous systems to more harm and or quicker progression from these toxins.

We're all in the same game; Just different levels.Dealing with the same Hell; Just different devils